Evelyn Wally Chaim Panish, beloved wife, mother, and friend, died on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at her home in Freeport, Maine, surrounded by her family. Evelyn had suffered with dementia for many years, however she always remembered her husband and children and retained her compassionate personality, sense of humor, and love of music and dance, into her final days. At her death she was 3 weeks shy of her 93rd birthday, and had celebrated her 72nd wedding anniversary with her family in August.

Evelyn was born in 1930 into a comfortable middle class Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. In September, 1940, after ongoing persecution by the Nazi regime, her family escaped through Russia to Japanese occupied Shanghai, China, where they spent the next 6 ½ years under Japanese occupation. She learned English at the Shanghai Jewish Youth Association School, and the family was sponsored for emigration to Denver, Colorado in April, 1947.

Upon arrival in the U.S. Evelyn attended Denver University, graduating with a major in chemistry, and minors in zoology, education, and theater. It was at D.U. in 1948 that she met Morton Panish whom she married in the summer of 1951, taking up residence in Lansing, Michigan, where Morton was attending graduate school.

Evelyn taught 4th grade in Lansing until her teaching career was cut short with the birth of her first son, Steven, in March, 1953.

Upon Morton’s completion of graduate school the family moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee where Morton was employed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Their second son, Paul, was born at Oak Ridge in July, 1955.

The family soon moved to North Andover, Massachusetts where Morton was employed at Avco Corporation and their daughter, Deborah, was born in 1957.

While in North Andover Evelyn was active in the public schools, serving as President of the Kittredge School PTA.

In 1965 Morton was hired by Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, and the family settled in Springfield where Evelyn participated in the PTA, League of Women Voters, and joined the congregation of Temple Sha’arey Shalom.

As a members of the synagogue Morton and Evelyn joined the Social Action Committee which was particularly active in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the time.

Evelyn’s love of music led her to join the Sha’arey Shalom Volunteer Choir, singing at Friday night services, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and other Temple events, an activity she kept up for 38 years. As a complement to her singing with the temple choir she joined the Kol Dodi Jewish Community Center Choir of MetroWest, NJ. She also joined the Zamir Choral Foundation, and loved to attend their yearly choral festival held in the Adirondack's of Upstate New York.

In addition to her activities with the Synagogue, Evelyn made use of her German background and in the early 1970’s pursued German Lanuage and Literature studies at Rutgers University and SUNY Brockport, earning her High School Teaching Certificate in 1971, which she used to teach German at Linden, NJ High School. From 1984 to 2001 Evelyn taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to Russian Emigre's through Bris Avrohom in Elizabeth, NJ.

In keeping with her background in music, dance, and theater, in the 1970’s Evelyn taught Rythm, Movement, and Modern Dance for pre-school, after-school, Synagogue, and the Jewish Community Center. From the 1980’s to the early 2000’s she taught Senior Dance, Israeli Folk Dance, and Exercise Classes in Springfield, J.C.C of Central NJ, Clark Township, Union County Regional Adult School, and the YM-YWHA of West Orange (now J.C.C. MetroWest).

Evelyn’s life was featured, along with those of other Holocaust Survivors, at the exhibit “From Memory to History, Faces and Voices of the Holocaust” at the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus, sponsored by The Holocaust Council of MetroWest from January through March, 2005.

In December 2004 Morton and Evelyn moved to Falmouth, Maine, to be closer to their children, while they were building their new home in Freeport, Maine, which they completed and moved into in 2005.

Once in Freeport Evelyn began singing with the Greater Freeport Community Chorus, where she enjoyed rehearsals, and the annual choral presentations which took place seasonally throughout the greater Freeport area. She continued singing with the Chorus until the outbreak of COVID-19 put an end to rehearsals in early 2020.

Morton and Evelyn became fixtures in Freeport where they were regular patrons at Isabella’s Cafe (where Morton’s artwork is displayed), the Freeport Inn, and the Broad Arrow Tavern at the Harraseeket Inn.

Evelyn remained active in her community, despite progressive dementia, until activities were curtailed with the onset of COVID-19. Together with her husband she led a remarkable and full life. She is survived, and greatly missed, by her husband Morton, her three children, Steven, Paul, and Deborah, and her two grandchildren, Emilia and Jeremy and many family friends.

Donations in Evelyn’s name may be made to HIAS, Southern Poverty Law Center, Doctors Without Borders, or The Holocaust and Human Rights Center, Maine

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